STEVEN Naismith declared himself to Evertonians in style with a hat-trick during Tony Hibbert’s testimonial last week, but also revealed that he is the intelligent type on and off the pitch.

The softly-spoken Irvine lad proved to be a thoroughly engaging and articulate character during interviews with the media after the game.

He was quietly content with how his summer has gone so far, and rightly so.

While still playing catch-up in the fitness stakes as the 25-year-old continues to build-up match sharpness after a knee cruciate injury in October, he has shown nous which David Moyes will be thrilled about.

During his handful of appearances Naismith’s movement has been shrewd and AEK Athens simply couldn’t cope with his cleverness when it came to taking up positions and moving between the lines on Wednesday.

It will be intriguing to see how Naismith influences Everton’s style of play as he replaces Tim Cahill in the deep-lying number 10 role behind Nikica Jelavic.

Not only is he better on the ball and at interpreting the flow of play than Cahill, he is a more varied finisher who can score with his feet as well as his head.

Naismith may lack the combative and leadership qualities that Cahill possessed in abundance, and his ability to distract opposition defences at set-pieces was often invaluable for the Blues.

But having a player with swifter speed of thought behind Jelavic might well mean Everton produce easier on the eye play.

Naismith admitted after Hibbert’s testimonial that Moyes wants him to contribute defensively, even if he cannot quite provide the same aerial robustness as Cahill.

It should not be too big a concern, with Marouane Fellaini likely to take more responsibilities for clearing set-pieces anyway.

Whatever he contributes on the field, Naismith could be a source of inspiration to thousands of young people in the region.

While at Rangers he publicly discussed his dyslexia, explaining how it made him feel inferior at school, even if it perhaps helps him flourish as a professional footballer. There will be many Merseyside kids who feel disadvantaged and unsure because of the condition – the Scot provides a bona-fide role model.